Dow Surges on Apple, Walmart Outperformance
The blue-chip index is in recovery mode this afternoon
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's (DJI) continues to recover from last week's catastrophic selloff, up over 700 points at its intraday peak. The blue-chip index brushed off disappointing data from the ISM manufacturing index, which showed a slowdown due to coronavirus headwinds last month. Meanwhile, Wall Street is eyeing impressive resilience from Apple (AAPL), Merck (MRK), and Walmart (WMT). A lead out of tech also has the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) sporting its own triple-digit gain midday.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
One stock sporting unusual options volume today is casino name Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR), where 18,000 puts have crossed the tape so far, 20 times what's typically seen at this point.The June 10 and April 10 puts are the most popular, with more than 12,000 contracts traded. At last glance Caesars stock is down 3.1% at $12.32, and pacing toward its seventh-straight loss.
Car sales platform Cars.com Inc (NYSE:CARS) is one the worst performers on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), last seen trading 10.3% lower at $8.17. While the catalyst behind the drop remains unclear, overhead pressure at the 160-day moving average has halted multiple breakout attempts since mid January. Longer-term, the $13 mark has been a ceiling of resistance for the shares. Over the past 12 months, Cars.com stock has shed 66%.
Biotech Forty Seven Inc (NASDAQ:FTSV) is one of the top stocks on the Nasdaq this afternoon, surging more than 60% at $93.74, earlier touching a record high of $94.03. Today's impressive bull gap comes after news the company will be purchased for $4.9 billion in all cash, or $95.50 per share, by sector peer Gilead Sciences (GILD). FTSV has surged 138% in 2020 alone, and following today's outperformance is pacing toward its second best day ever.